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Power Rankings: Tottenham, Arsenal & Man Utd gain

Tottenham were the weekend’s big Power Rankings winners, with Everton, Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle United also gaining ground.

In Power Rankings, we award points from 0.5 to 10, decided by an algorithm based on bookmaker odds and winning margins.

It helps, particularly in the early stages of the season, before every team has played all the others, to highlight the real value of the points won and lost.

West Ham, for example, have 13 points in the actual Premier League table but have 34 in the Power Rankings having won at Arsenal, Liverpool and now Manchester City. For the Irons, this alternative table highlights the true value of the points they’ve won – points that relatively few other teams will get – but also leaves them wondering ‘what if’, with bonus points at Emirates Stadium, Anfield and the Etihad counting for little in reality due to home defeats to Leicester and Bournemouth.

Week 7

Tottenham – 7: Down in 16th going into the weekend, Spurs climb nine places into seventh on the back of a hugely-impressive 4-1 win over Manchester City at White Hart Lane.

Arsenal – 4: Spurs’ north London rivals also had plenty to shout about over the weekend as they won 5-2 at high-flying Leicester City. The Gunners were favourites going into the game at the King Power Stadium, but a three-goal winning margin proves the big teams’ ability to rack up Power Rankings points.

Crystal Palace – 4: Also claiming four points were Alan Pardew’s Eagles, who were outsiders to beat Watford on a ground where they had not conceded a goal in the Premier League this season. Yohan Cabaye’s penalty has allowed Palace to stretch their lead in second place.

Manchester United – 4: Like Arsenal, United were odds-on favourites to win their game, but a comfortable-three goal win over Sunderland sees Louis van Gaal’s side also pick up three points.

Southampton – 4: Southampton complete the quartet to claim four Power Rankings points over the weekend after claiming a 3-1 win over Swansea City to climb into mid-table.

Everton – 3: Looked dead and buried at 2-0 to West Brom, but fought back to claim an impressive victory at odds against with Romelu Lukaku starring for the visitors.

Newcastle – 3: Their draw against Chelsea was worth only a point in reality, but Steve McClaren’s side can take solace in three Power Rankings points against a Chelsea side that were odds-on to heap more misery on the Magpies despite their own less than impressive start to the season.

Stoke – 3: The first team to match their actual points haul is Stoke, who were a generous 31/20 to claim their first win of the season against Bournemouth. Mame Diouf’s late header moves Mark Hughes’ side out of the bottom three.

Liverpool – 2: Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool, meanwhile, drop a point after a double from Rudy Gestede saw them forced to hang on for a narrow 3-2 win over Aston Villa in a game they were odds-on to win at Anfield.

West Ham – 1: The only other team, along with Stoke, to match their actual points haul was West Ham, who were held to a draw by Norwich City at Upton Park. Surprisingly, the Hammers were not odds-on to win and so escape with a point.

Chelsea – 0.5: Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea on the other hand were favourites to win at Newcastle on Saturday. They deserve credit for coming back from two goals down to salvage a draw, but it’s still worth only a solitary point in the Power Rankings.